Saturday, June 21, 2014

Apple Update

I wanted to go and check on the apple trees down by the burnt out farm. It's been a while since I was down there last time. Hmm... I just noticed in the last week that a lot of the grass is starting to turn yellow and brown. Even though I live in Canada, here on this part of the West Coast we sort of have two seasons instead of four - a wet season (Oct-May) and a dry season (June-Sept).

What a pretty flower!! It looks kind of like an onion. I wonder if it is?? let me check...
****pawing through plant book****
Nope, it is called Fool's Onion - it is part of the lily family. It is still pretty.

The other things that are out in full force are the spit bugs! Do you have them where you live? They can make a walk beary interesting... ick!

It is good to get out and hike around.

Oh look!!! The blackberries are blooming. You know what that means! In a few months there will be scrumptious blackberries. I have been scouting out some good patches so I will be ready in August.

And if you look carefully... on that upper flower, there is a bee! 

This is also a pretty flower - it is St. John's Wort. Gramma used to soak the blossoms in linseed oil for burns.

Wow... the grass sure has grown tall!

Oh my goodness!! A whole field of daisies!!

They are so pretty and cheerful. And spit-bug free at this point - which is good.

Ahhhh... sometimes a little bear just needs to lie back and relax.

And here we are... the apple trees. Well, there are some tiny apples growing - so that is good. But I think it will be September before they are ready. 

And this pretty purple flower is some sort of vetch I think.

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15 comments:

  1. L foxJune 21, 2014 at 10:12 AM

    Sandy I saw lots of spitbugs last week on the coast. They are an interesting type of bug, I agree with you, ick.

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    1. Alexander Mackenzie BearJune 22, 2014 at 8:44 AM

      Interesting perhaps but Ick takes precedence on this one! Ewwww... Try to tip toe through a field of flowers covered in spitbugs - not fun. Do you have stink bugs too? They are sort of shield shaped with a green and red carapace - we get them on raspberries sometimes here.

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    2. L foxJune 25, 2014 at 8:43 AM

      We have stink bugs down here as well, not my favorite things although I have only seen them in the gorge and the beach areas, luckily (and thankfully) they are always off the trail (so far....)

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    3. Alexander Mackenzie BearJune 25, 2014 at 12:15 PM

      And watch out for ticks too! Not sure if you have them or not - I don't know if we have them - I hope not. They are nasty!

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  2. Ajdin AdilovicJune 21, 2014 at 12:19 PM

    what a fun outing Sandy! If you need any help picking those blackberries and apples, let me know!

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    1. Alexander Mackenzie BearJune 22, 2014 at 8:45 AM

      Oh, definitely need help with the blackberries!! They are literally everywhere and this year I am going to get some serious blackberry picking gear - like thorn proof clothes!

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    2. L foxJune 22, 2014 at 12:08 PM

      Blackberries are so much fun to eat....not to pick...but to eat. They start coming in around August down here, is that when you will get them?

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    3. Alexander Mackenzie BearJune 23, 2014 at 11:44 AM

      August here too - the early ones are the best ones - nice and fat and juicy. Later ones are kind of meh... dry and shrivelly.

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  3. Jerry and BenJune 21, 2014 at 1:23 PM

    That field of daisies looks amazing! Did you pick a bunch and put in a vase to decorate your table? We don't have any of those bugs where we live..at least we don't think so. We DO have plenty of mosquitos, sometimes called the "state bird" of Minnesota, because we have 10,000 lakes here and thus LOTS of those pesky bugs. We've also had a LOT of rain, so we have even more of them. Luckily little bears have thick fur, but our human companions are like a buffet brunch for those pests.

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    1. Alexander Mackenzie BearJune 22, 2014 at 8:46 AM

      Of course!! Daisies might not smell beary nice but they certainly brighten up the house! As long as they don't have any spit-bug hitchhikers. I've seen a few mosquitoes around here but we are now moving into the dry season so hopefully they will be few and far between!

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    2. Jerry and BenJune 23, 2014 at 1:01 PM

      Jerry saw a whole bunch of bees in the flower garden today...he was very happy. Now we just have to find their secret stash of honey! Ben says it's at the farmers market...

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    3. Alexander Mackenzie BearJune 25, 2014 at 12:16 PM

      Oh yes, farmer's market are great places to find honey. We have a bee farm nearby somewhere but Mama hasn't taken me there yet... can you believe that???

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    4. Jerry and BenJuly 1, 2014 at 9:27 PM

      We can believe it...seKretaries are sometimes very busy. You have to keep pestering them, or looking at them with cute little bear eyes. There is a man who sells all kinds of honey at our farmer's market, and even beeswax candles, and honey candy, and lots of other things.

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  4. L foxJune 22, 2014 at 12:06 PM

    Jerry and Ben I always imagined that you would have lots and lots of Mosquitos in your part of the country. Any suggestions for a good mosquito repellant?

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